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Cheatle takes full responsibility for the security failures at the Trump rally.
Photo by Kenny Holston / The New York Times
Key Takeaways
Cheatle described the July 13 incident as the most significant failure in decades. The attack resulted in one fatality and two critical injuries. <?xml encoding="UTF-8"?>Kimberly Cheatle, director of the US Secret Service, has resigned amid intense criticism over the agency’s failure to prevent the July 13 assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, according to sources familiar with the decision.
Cheatle’s departure comes just days after a contentious congressional hearing where she faced bipartisan calls to step down. During her testimony before the House Oversight Committee, Cheatle called the incident “the most significant operational failure at the Secret Service in decades.”
“The Secret Service’s solemn mission is to protect our nation’s leaders. On July 13, we failed,” Cheatle stated. “As the director of the United States Secret Service, I take full responsibility for any security lapse.”
The shooting at Trump’s Pennsylvania rally left one attendee dead and two others critically injured. Critics questioned how the alleged shooter accessed a nearby rooftop despite being identified as suspicious beforehand. Cheatle maintained that only “a very short period of time” elapsed between the shooter’s identification and the attack.
Cheatle’s tenure was marked by efforts to increase diversity within the Secret Service. However, some conservatives, like Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., criticized her as a “DEI hire,” suggesting female agents have “physical limitations” for the role.
Despite initially resisting calls to resign, Cheatle’s departure highlights the gravity of the security breach and the pressure on the agency to restore public confidence in its ability to protect high-profile figures during a volatile election season.
Polymarket bets on resignation
Crypto prediction market Polymarket saw increased activity related to the incident. A contract asking if Cheatle would be fired by September 1 traded at 29 cents, indicating a 29% probability. While volume was relatively low at $7,000, it reflected growing interest in political outcomes among crypto traders.
Other Polymarket contracts emerged, with bettors giving a 94% chance the gunman was a lone actor and an 83% likelihood of Republican political leanings. Notably, Trump’s re-election odds on the platform surged to 71% following the incident, with $258 million staked on the outcome.
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